School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India.
Department of Orthopedics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 Jul 15;133:817-830. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.04.107. Epub 2019 Apr 16.
Chitosan, a natural biopolymer with osteoconductive properties is widely investigated to generate scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications. However, chitosan based scaffolds lacks in mechanical strength and structural stability in hydrated condition and thereby limits its application for bone tissue regeneration. Thus in the present study, to overcome the limitations associated with chitosan based scaffolds, we fabricated polyelectrolyte complexation mediated composite scaffold of chitosan and chondroitin sulfate incorporated with nano-sized bioglass. Developed scaffolds were successfully characterized for various morphological, physico-chemical, mechanical and apatite forming properties using XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM and TEM. It was observed that polyelectrolyte complexation followed by incorporation of bioglass significantly enhances mechanical strength, reduces excessive swelling behavior and enhances structural stability of the scaffold in hydrated condition. Also, in-vitro cell adhesion, spreading, viability and cytotoxity were investigated to evaluate the cell supportive properties of the developed scaffolds. Furthermore, alkaline phosphatase activity, biomineralization and collagen type I expression were observed to be significantly higher over the composite scaffold indicating its superior osteogenic potential. More importantly, in-vivo iliac crest bone defect study revealed that implanted composite scaffold facilitate tissue regeneration and integration with native bone tissue. Thus, developed composite scaffold might be a suitable biomaterial for bone tissue engineering applications.
壳聚糖是一种具有骨诱导特性的天然生物聚合物，被广泛研究用于生成骨组织工程应用的支架。然而，壳聚糖基支架在水合条件下缺乏机械强度和结构稳定性，从而限制了其在骨组织再生中的应用。因此，在本研究中，为了克服与壳聚糖基支架相关的限制，我们制备了壳聚糖和硫酸软骨素的聚电解质复合介导的复合支架，其中掺入了纳米级生物玻璃。使用 XRD、FT-IR、FE-SEM 和 TEM 成功地对开发的支架进行了各种形态、物理化学、机械和磷灰石形成特性的表征。观察到聚电解质复合后掺入生物玻璃显著提高了支架的机械强度，减少了过度的溶胀行为，并增强了水合条件下的结构稳定性。此外，还研究了体外细胞黏附、铺展、活力和细胞毒性，以评估开发的支架的细胞支持特性。此外，碱性磷酸酶活性、生物矿化和 I 型胶原蛋白表达观察到在复合支架上显著更高，表明其具有优异的成骨潜力。更重要的是，体内髂嵴骨缺损研究表明，植入的复合支架促进了组织再生并与天然骨组织整合。因此，开发的复合支架可能是骨组织工程应用的合适生物材料。
